“The other scout,” Daniel calls out to the pilot. He gives Cole a tight smile then drops his gaze to Cole’s bloody midsection. “You all right, son?”
“Yeah.” Cole reaches out and grabs his father’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. The pilot radios to Frank and gets Hahn’s coordinates. In minutes, they are landing to pick up Hahn. He hops in and immediately leans over Mills, who is holding his hand over one of the wounds. He looks at Keith and gives him a slight nod, thanking him for looking after his partner until he got there.
“Hit it!” Cole’s voice rings through the chopper and makes everyone jump to positions. Immediately, three small bombs hit the house where Cole had been held.
Cole leans back into the seat, finally letting the pain sink in. Mark crawls over and has a look at Cole’s cut.
“This is a bad one, Cole.” He sees Mark glance at his father. He nods, knowing he’ll need staples and some seriously strong antibiotics. His eyelids feel heavy, and he slowly drifts off.
Cole barely remembers being lifted out of the chopper. He has only a vague recall of the doctor telling him what needed to be done and of getting the staples across his torso. He was told he had a cracked skull and therefore a concussion. He welcomed sleep when it came, bringing with it dreams of holding Savannah.
I kept my promise, baby.